Malaysia - Provisional two vaccines for pigs

[FrenchieGirl]

Provisional two vaccines for pigsBy Annie Freeda Cruez

2009/05/07

The Veterinary Services Department allowed today a provisional registration of two vaccines to vaccinate pigs against the influenza A (H1N1) virus. Two companies, Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Laboratorios Hipra, are expected to bring in the vaccines for testing next week. The companies are involved in researching, manufacturing and marketing veterinary products.

Department director-general Datuk Dr Abd. Aziz Jamaluddin said they would use the vaccines, one from America and the other from Europe, in a pilot project to prevent disease associated with swine influenza virus subtypes H1N1 and H3N2.

?The vaccines to be brought in are for both H1N1 and H3N2. We will work with the companies during the trial, expected to be carried in the last two weeks of the month, before deciding whether to vaccinate all the 1.7 million pigs in the country,? he said.

He also said the department could only advise the government on the mass vaccination after ensuring the vaccines were safe for use on the pigs and would avert the spread of the disease.

The trial results are expected to be known by the end of next month.

He felt that if the trial on pigs was successful, then a mass vaccination should be done as it would not only protect the pigs but also reduce the risk of H1N1 getting into a virulent strain.

He said all State Veterinary Department offices have activated their rapid action teams to check pig farms and take blood samples as well as nasal swabs to be sent to the Veterinary Research Institute to determine if they have the current strain of the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

So far, the department checked 301 of the 776 pig farms nationwide with random samples taken from pigs for testing.

He said 22 of the 301 pig farms had indications of the pigs suffering from influenza-like symptoms.

However, he added the virus found in the pigs were not the present H1N1 strain.

He said the department has activated its 24-hour operations centre to answer public queries and get updates from all the states.
?Our Veterinary Research Institute is on standby 24 hours for any turn of events. This is besides our seven regional laboratories which are also on high alert,? said Dr Ab. Aziz.

 

[kiwibird]

Re: Malaysia - Provisional two vaccines for pigs

Is there any update on this FrenchieGirl?

So far, the department checked 301 of the 776 pig farms nationwide with random samples taken from pigs for testing.

He said 22 of the 301 pig farms had indications of the pigs suffering from influenza-like symptoms.

However, he added the virus found in the pigs were not the present H1N1 strain.

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Malaysia - Provisional two vaccines for pigs

2009/05/09
INFLUENZA A(H1N1): 'Virus exists in pigs but not same as current strain'


<table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td class="caption" id="aphoto">All vehicles are hosed down before they leave pig farms as a precautionary measure against influenza A (H1N1).</td></tr> </tbody></table> <!--end pix1-->
There has been evidence of the presence of the H1N1 virus among the pig population in Malaysia, and Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin tells ANNIE FREEDA CRUEZ how it was discovered
<!--start pix2 & pix3-->
<table align="right" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="3" width="200"> <tbody><tr><td>

</td></tr> <tr><td class="caption">A Veterinary Services Department lab technician sealing a plastic bag containing the blood sample of pigs at a farm.</td></tr> </tbody></table> <!--end pix2 & pix3-->IT happened in 2004 when the Veterinary Services Department undertook a study to check on the prevalence of diseases among pigs based on the samples collected during the Nipah outbreak in Peninsular Malaysia in 1999.

When the 1,000 samples went through laboratory tests, it was found that 26.5 per cent showed the presence of influenza H1N1, but no isolation work was done.

Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin said there might have been outbreaks of the disease but the scale, in terms of mortality and morbidity, might have been very small and they were overlooked by the farmers. Many of the animals might have also acquired immunity and, thus, did not succumb to the disease.

"We already knew that the virus existed among the pigs, but it is not the same strain that is causing the influenza in humans now," he told the New Straits Times.
<center><!-- start video--> <!-- end video--> </center> He said the department was aware of H1N1 and the H3N2 strain, and the vaccines being used to vaccinate pigs in the United States and Europe, but there was no attempt to bring the vaccines to Malaysia because there was no immediate danger.

In 2006, another study was conducted by the department which also included a researcher from Universiti Putra Malaysia. This time, they took blood samples and nasal swabs from pigs at random and the result showed the virus still existed.

Dr Abd Aziz said there was evidence of H1N1 and H3N2 circulating in the pig population and believed that its prevalence was 12.2 per cent among the country's pig herds.

He said pigs were permissive to both human and avian influenza viruses and were an intermediate host for the genesis of pandemic influenza viruses.

With the influenza A (H1N1) outbreak among human, the department has given approval for two companies -- Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Laboratorios Hipra -- to bring in the vaccines for pigs to contain the H1N1 and H3N2.

The vaccines, which are expected to arrive from the US and Europe next week, will be used on pigs under a pilot project to ascertain whether it would help to contain the spread of the disease.

"If successful, we will advise the government on mass vaccination," he said, adding that about 1.7 million pigs in 776 farms would be vaccinated.

Dr Abd Aziz said the main aim was to reduce the risk of the emergence of the virus among humans and also to protect the pigs.

Although the Nipah virus has been eliminated in Malaysia, the department continues to keep watch on pig farms.

On measures taken by the department to deal with a H1N1 outbreak among human, Dr Abd Aziz said all state Veterinary Departments had teams to handle such a situation. It has also stepped up the level of bio-security at all pig farms, including those in Sabah and Sarawak.

"All those working in pig farms must wear protective attires including gloves and masks.

"Those who are sick have been told to keep away from the farm. That is a regulation which must be adhered to as we do not want the pigs to be infected."

The major pig-rearing states are Penang, Perak, Selangor, Malacca and Johor.

As of Wednesday, the department had checked 341 pig farms and the animals in 22 of them showed the presence of influenza-like symptoms, but not the H1N1 strain.

Dr Abd Aziz said the department hoped to cover all the 776 farms by end of the month.

"We not only look at clinical symptoms but also collect 30 blood samples and nasal swabs from each high risk farms to be sent for laboratory tests at the Veterinary Research Institute. To date, no sample has shown signs of the current strain."

The department plans to reorganise the pig industry to avert major disease outbreak.

He said the government did come out with a blueprint in 1991 to relocate pig farms to one area, but it never materialised in all states due to issues regarding the allocation of land by state governments and protests by some people.

He said Negri Sembilan and Sarawak have designated pig farms while Sabah is looking for a proper site.

Other states which have earmarked designated areas are Perak, Selangor and Johor.

"Since designating a place for pig rearing is a problem, we have moved on to developing modern pig farming, meaning the existing pig farms must upgrade to meet the requirements of the department in order to operate."

The department which runs a 24-hour operations centre has seven regional laboratories besides the Veterinary Research Institute in Ipoh and is proposing for a Centre for Animal Disease Control to be sited in Labu, Negri Sembilan.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/National/2552479/Article/index_html

 

[kiwibird]

Re: Malaysia - Provisional two vaccines for pigs

The major pig-rearing states are Penang, Perak, Selangor, Malacca and Johor.

Dr Abd Aziz said there was evidence of H1N1 and H3N2 circulating in the pig population and believed that its prevalence was 12.2 per cent among the country's pig herds.

When the 1,000 samples went through laboratory tests, it was found that 26.5 per cent showed the presence of influenza H1N1, but no isolation work was done.

(This was in 2004 - would the animals have had to have been recently exposed - the 26% - in order to produce detectable antibodies?)

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Malaysia - Provisional two vaccines for pigs

Monday, May 4, 2009

Malaysia to vaccinate pigs to prevent mutation of flu virus

Kuala Lumpur (PTI) Malaysia will vaccinate 1.7 million pigs in the country to prevent the flu virus from mutating into a different strain.

The vaccines will not protect pigs from the influenza A (H1NI1) strain but reduce the risk of mutation, Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin, Director-general of Malaysia's Veterinary Services Department said.

"It does not protect the pigs from the H1N1 virus that is affecting the world now, but it will reduce the risk of mutation happening (from the normal swine flu virus)," Jamaluddin said.

He said that the department is evaluating the various vaccines available and would make a decision within a week.

The process is expected to cost between 8 million ringgit to 10 million ringgit, he added.

He has also dismissed proposals to cull pigs, saying it would be costly and "is not the right step."

Earlier Deputy Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Johari Baharum said there is a temporary freeze on the issuance of new permits to import pork to prevent spreading of virus in Malaysia.

The ministry would monitor the current companies which are importing pork from countries including the United States, China and Vietnam, he said.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200905041501.htm
<!-- story ends -->

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Malaysia - Provisional two vaccines for pigs

Malaysia Has H1N1 Vaccine For Swine Flu

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has the vaccine for swine flu which can be used to stop the spread of the disease to this country.

Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin said the H1N1 vaccine should be injected into pigs as a preventive measure following reports of 81 people killed by the swine flu in Mexico.

He told Bernama that the department was only waiting for the directive from the Health Ministry to carry out vaccination on the livestock.

He believed that the H1N1 vaccine was also used by pig farms in other countries as a preventive measure against swine flu.

Dr Abd Aziz also disclosed that Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had issued a directive to all State Veterinary Services directors to monitor pig farms in their respective states as a precaution and to report on any sign of swine flu infection.

"Stern action will be taken against them if they fail to do this. They must also ensure that all the pig breeders follow instructions like their workers must wear masks," he said.

Dr Abd Aziz said state livestock breeders' associations were required to cooperate with the Veterinary Services Department by reporting on any symptom of swine flu.

"If their workers have similar symptoms for influenza, high fever, sore throat and body aches, they must be given leave and undergo medical examination immediately."

Dr Abd Aziz said so far the department had not received any report of swine flu symptoms in the country, while the disease also had the potential of being spread to birds but the possibility was remote.

"If avian flu can spread through food like by eating chicken, swine flu cannot be spread by eating pork but through human contact," he said.

More information on the swine flu can be obtained by calling 03-88810200 or 03-88810300, or by visiting website www.moh.gov.my.

-- BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=407263

 

[tropical]

Re: Malaysia - Provisional two vaccines for pigs

#1:
"Department director-general Datuk Dr Abd. Aziz Jamaluddin said they would use the vaccines, one from America and the other from Europe, in a pilot project to prevent disease associated with swine influenza virus subtypes H1N1 and H3N2.

“The vaccines to be brought in are for both H1N1 and H3N2. We will work with the companies during the trial, expected to be carried in the last two weeks of the month, before deciding whether to vaccinate all the 1.7 million pigs in the country,” he said.

He also said the department could only advise the government on the mass vaccination after ensuring the vaccines were safe for use on the pigs and would avert the spread of the disease.

The trial results are expected to be known by the end of next month.

He felt that if the trial on pigs was successful, then a mass vaccination should be done as it would not only protect the pigs but also reduce the risk of H1N1 getting into a virulent strain."


Seems that the pig vaccines are ready to be inoculated in 2 weeks.
Vaccines which were produced in USA and EU.

From the highlighted text, it is visible that if this pilot project would be succesfull:
"a mass vaccination should be done" onto the whole pig stock,
"as it would not only protect the pigs but also reduce the risk of H1N1 getting into a virulent strain";
"the mass vaccination after ensuring the vaccines were safe for use on the pigs and would avert the spread of the disease"


Now, this is about pigs protection, but,

could we extend such logic to humans also, or not?


Explanation (a try of expl., maybe it is whole wrong):

The vets there thinks that their pig stocks (if the pilot project confirm this) will be protected by such vaccines in a few weeks, or a month,
this could be doubtfull;

But if it is realy a true fact,
why the same logic of protection is not implemented to the other part of the spreading equation - the humans?

Why the humans must wait 4-6 months to the first "seasonal" vacc. quantity instead of use an previous swine flu strain vaccine (without the avian component)?
Is such vacc. totaly unexistant now, and because of stringent protocols we must already wait 4 months,
or the whole above idea (for pigs and for humans) is a failure?

Plain words, by the similar logic driven for the pig stocks:
- to provide already existed strain vaccines - easier to fabricate, safe for use on humans, for human vaccination, so than:
"as it would not only protect the HUMANS but also reduce the risk of H1N1 getting into a virulent strain";

and the above vacc. of pigs would be a shield to the novel AH1N1 triplevirus by an previous swine flu strain vaccine,
or
all that is wishfull thinking, will be of no real shielding benefit, and that is an move to protect the pig stocks from also be stamped "at risk of new flu infection"?